Pioneers hold off Hixson, reach final

photo East Ridge's Ryan Sellars, No. 3, tries to get a kick off before Hixson's David Parras, No. 9, can intercept him. The Hixson and East Ridge high school soccer teams played at Camp Jordan in East Ridge on Tuesday afternoon. Staff photo by Jake Daniels/Chattanooga Times Free Press

EAST RIDGE 2, HIXSON 1Halftime score: 2-0. Goals: Erberto Taboada, Weber Morales (ER); Sikhou Sy (H). Assists: Morales, Josh Francisco (ER); Nau Alvarez (H). Shots on goal: Hixson, 8-6. Saves: Jonathan Rodriguez 7 (ER); Chris Bovell 4 (H). Records: East Ridge 13-2-1; Hixson 10-6-1.

The East Ridge boys' soccer team spends the regular season getting focused on the postseason.

But, as evidenced by Josh Francisco's joyous chant of "Two for Two!!" after the Pioneers defeated Hixson on Tuesday, some wins mean a lot regardless of when they happen.

The host Pioneers jumped out to a two-goal advantage in the first half. They were put back on their heels in the second but held on to defeat the Wildcats 2-1 to advance to the District 6-A/AA tournament final Thursday.

East Ridge (13-2-1) claimed its second victory of the year over Hixson, who ended the Pioneers' season a year ago. They will face East Hamilton, who defeated Arts & Sciences 2-0 in the other semifinal, in Thursday's championship match at 7 at Redoubt.

"I've got two runner-up trophies in my classroom," East Ridge coach Jeremy McIntyre said. "I'm wanting to change that. We've been to the district championship three consecutive years; we're geared for this."

Weber Morales passed to Erberto Taboada for a nice header early in the first half, and then with a few minutes remaining in the period, a Francisco throw-in found the foot of Morales, who nailed a low liner past Hixson keeper Chris Bovell for the two-goal edge.

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

The Wildcats controlled the second half, pushing as many as five players into the attack. They cut the lead to 2-1 on a header by Sikhou Sy, assisted by a Nau Alvarez throw-in. They had a later opportunity to tie the game, but Alex Martinez had a huge nonkeeper save when East Ridge keeper Jonathan Rodriguez was caught out of position.

"We just couldn't put 80 minutes together," Hixson coach Jeff Dean said. "We didn't show up in the first half; they dominated that one, and I thought we dominated the second.

"We had plenty of opportunities to tie the game; we got down there but couldn't put it in."

Upcoming Events